Rebel unity ominous for Berisha

WITH just 24 hours before military action is due to resume after Albania's temporary peace agreement, the political conflict between President Sali Berisha and rebels in the south has worsened.

The Dutch Foreign Minister, Mr Hans van Mierlo, has called on President Berisha to postpone or, refrain from violence. "I repeatedly said to him - make it possible for the EU to help Albania," Mr van Mierlo told reporters after his meeting with the Albanian leader in Tirana.

But Mr Berisha told European parliamentarians he would not, hold new elections in the near future, and would not institute a coalition government. In the meantime, a newly-formed rebel committee came up with its own "peace plan", the main plank of which was a demand for Mr Berisha's resignation.

At least 27 people have been killed in hostilities in the south of the country since the state of emergency was declared last Sunday.

The formation of a 31-member rebel "Salvation Committee", however, is an indication of growing unity among the rebels. Until now the fighting in the south has been the result of "spontaneous combustion" due to the collapse of fraudulent investment schemes. The lack of central rebel leadership had been Mr Berisha's main advantage. But the formation of the Salvation Committee is bad news for the Tirana authorities.

The rebel committee also calls for early elections and a "government of technical experts". But both these points were specifically ruled out by Mr Berisha, speaking to a delegation from the Council of Europe.

The 48-hour ceasefire has given the rebels time to strengthen their defences and bridges around the towns of Vlore, Sarande and Delvina have been blow up, making it more likely that a military stand-off between the government and the rebels will continue.

Ethnic differences between northern and southern Albanians make the rebels' task more difficult. The northern Gegs speak a different dialect from the southern Tosks and are regarded as more, warlike in their traditions. That they have not been involved in the rebellion so far is because Mr Berisha is a Geg. Also, the poorer northerners simply did not have money to lose in the investment schemes.

European political involvement in talks yesterday in Tirana brought no tangible results. The Council of Europe delegation strongly backed Mr Berisha's peace plan. It called on the opposition Socialist Party, the former Albanian communists, to end its boycott of the local parliament, and bring its arguments to the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe.

The Council, Europe's main human rights body, has in recent years admitted many countries, including Albania, which have extremely poor human rights records. This has brought strong criticism from human rights activists.

Refugees from Albania were still fleeing to Greece and Italy yesterday, with 70 accepted on the Greek island of Corfu and 250 on the land border at Kakkavia. The Italian coastguards also picked up 24 refugees, including 11 children, who were drifting in a sailing boat near the south-eastern port of Otranto.